About

My career in healthcare began as a hospital healthcare assistant, working on a variety of wards for several years. I enjoyed it so much that it prompted me to undertake a nursing degree and I graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2004.

I started my career in nursing working as a staff nurse within a busy respiratory unit, where I became the palliative care link for the ward. This sparked my passion for palliative nursing and I went on to work in both hospice and hospital settings.

In 2013 I was awarded an Economic and Social Research Council scholarship to undertake a PhD at the University of Nottingham, exploring compassionate care in acute hospital settings.

I am currently a senior lecturer and undertake a variety of roles, from teaching on our on-campus Nursing Associate programme and our online Nursing Studies degree, to collaborating on research projects and supporting registered nurses undertaking doctoral degrees. Working with other nurses to research important nursing issues is something I particularly enjoy.  

Teaching responsibilities

Senior Lecturer Pre-Qualifying Healthcare.

• FdSc Nursing Associate Programmes
• BSc Hons Nursing Programme
• PGR and research students

Professional interests

• Palliative care nursing
• Research education and critical appraisal skills
• Research ethics: co-opted member of HPSC Ethics Committee     
• Peer reviewer: Nurse Researcher and Nursing Inquiry journals 

Research interests

• Qualitative research and ethnographic methodologies
• Health research ethics 
• Feminist and sociological research perspectives
• Compassionate healthcare 
• Nurse well-being  

Membership of professional bodies

• Nursing and Midwifery Council
• Royal College of Nursing
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy 

Qualifications

• PG Cert (Interprofessional Education) - University of Derby
• PhD (Nursing) - University of Nottingham
• PG Cert (Palliative care) - University of Nottingham
• BA (Hons) Nursing Studies - Glasgow Caledonian University
• BA (Hons) English Literature & Women’s Studies - Anglia Polytechnic University

Experience in industry

• Respiratory nursing  
• Palliative care nursing 
• Inpatient hospital and hospice care settings

International experience

In February 2024, I was invited to provide fieldwork training to a University of Cambridge sponsored and NIHR-funded international research project. The ENRICH-Qual study is conducting a qualitative exploration of the non-medical care provider role in the neurosurgical care pathway. Co-investigators are located in UK, India, Pakistan and Cameroon.

Recent publications

• Hickling, A., Mason, L., Chapman, V. and Barnes, D. (2025) Differences in infant safe sleep practice between the neonatal unit and the home environment: A systematised review. Journal of Neonatal Nursing, 31 (2) Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnn.2025.101622  
• Whiffin, C., Barnes, D. and Henshaw, L. (2024) Critical appraisal skills for healthcare students: A practical guide to writing evidence based practice assignments. UK: Wiley
• Dainty, A., Barnes, D., Bellamy, E., Kyte, N. and Berry, K. (2021) Opportunity, support and understanding: the experience of four early trainee nursing associates. British Journal of Healthcare Assistants , 15 (6), pp.284-291
• Barnes, D. (2017) An ethnography exploring compassion in the hospital ward setting. PhD thesis. University of Nottingham. Available at: http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/etheses/  (Accessed: 1 February 2024)

Donna Barnes ResearchGate profile